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In the wake of Superstorm Sandy, a moment at the Republican National Convention in August (which was itself truncated by Hurricane Isaac) is looking ill-considered. Mitt Romney said, "President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans." The candidate then archly bit his underlip as a wink to the audience that was in on the joke. "And to heal the planet," he continued as the chuckles rose. "My promise is to help you and your family." This brought the cheering audience to its feet for a full minute.

It seemed like a win at the time. Romney was characterizing his opponent as Olympian, highfalutin and out of touch with reality. But by the end of October, with the election just days away, this casual punchline may become a liability for the Republican's campaign.

That is certainly what the climate activists at the ClimateSilence.org campaign, led by Forecast the Facts and Friends of the Earth Action, were intending when they released a new political ad this week called "Romney vs. Sandy,” see above. In order to "contrasts Mitt Romney’s mockery of the threat of climate change at the Republican National Convention with the destructive power of Superstorm Sandy," the ad takes that minute of ovation and swaps out visuals from news accounts and YouTube videos showing the relentless force and destruction of the storm.

The ad is running on television in select counties in Ohio and Virginia, and of course, on YouTube, where it has been viewed almost 300,000 times. My clever son saw the video and commented that it went on too long. A minute on television is, indeed, a long time, and I think that the people behind this ad want the embarrassment to last and build.

Most scientists, at this point, seem to agree that the incidence of powerful storms is increasing, but also that no one incident can be said to be caused by man-made global warming. So this is circumstantial evidence—correlation not causation. But causation to the side, New Orleans and now New York have taken body blows from powerful storms, and this is clearly no laughing matter.

Will Sandy turn out to be the "November Surprise?" Will Romney address the joke or climate change in a meaningful way before the election. Unlikely. At a rally in the battleground State of Ohio on Friday night, Romney's surrogates mostly "expressed compassion for the victims of Hurricane Sandy and urged the crowd to keep them in thoughts and prayers," according to an account in the L.A. Times. All but one.

Artur Davis, former Democratic congressman from Alabama—and former Obama supporter—joked, “Now four years ago, ladies and gentleman, the president sounded so good. Remember the rise of the oceans, which began to slow, the planet would began to heal. Now I don’t know about the oceans; ask Mayor Bloomberg and Al Gore about that.” Perhaps Davis is a loose cannon, but the timing certainly doesn't seem repentant.

As the Mayor of a submerged metropolis, Bloomberg has a unique perspective. On Thursday, he endorsed Obama because of their, quite moderate, mutual views on climate change. "And while the increase in extreme weather we have experienced in New York City and around the world may or may not be the result of it," Bloomberg wrote of climate change, "the risk that it might be—given this week's devastation—should compel all elected leaders to take immediate action." That doesn't sound Olympian, highfalutin or out of touch with reality. It sounds like common sense that the majority of Americans agree with.